SMC advances to the next round
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They started going on a tear when Marciulonis was sitting on the bench
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They always find a way to break my heart
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I projected them getting eliminated in round 2. They usually get through round 1.
I thought SMC was doomed when Gus went out but kudos to the rest of the squad for not just holding on but closing the gap while Gus was out.
Athletic teams who can play to their desired pace, play through SMC’s physical D and rebounding have been SMC’s kryptonite. Vanderbilt had that going for them but failed to drive the nail in the coffin while Gus was out for 7mins+ with his 4th foul.
Alabama will present a similar but more formidable challenge with an athletic squad that has the #1 adjusted tempo on Torvik while also having decent length in the post to deal w/ SMC’s bigs.
One other thought on SMC, transfer Marauskas has been important to them, has had a good season and is arguably their 3rd best player behind Gus and Saxen. But he has stunk it up the last two games…in foul trouble and 0pts vs. GU in the WCC title game and just 4pts and 3rebs on 1-9 shooting (0-4 from 3). They’ll need a better game from him if they hope to upset Alabama.
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Interesting stat. Only 3 teams in Top 20 3pt % made it to Round of 32. Houston / Purdue and Duke. Santa Clara meanwhile finished 15th in D1 in 3pt % and 5th overall in total 3s made. Just shows long range sharpshooting isn’t enough, other aspects come into play.
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I’d double ‘like’ the post if I could.
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A post was merged into an existing topic: 25-26 Bracketology